Logline & Synopsis
A lonely bureaucrat for The Afterlife finds his purpose upended by a dying child's imaginary friend - forcing him to reimagine how we die, and what it means to truly live.
Ernest has one of the strangest jobs in the universe. He’s a "Facilitator for The Decedent", shuffling the dead over to The Afterlife with a cupán tae and a comforting word. For centuries, he's followed Death's rigid rules, but his dutiful existence is rattled by Kiara, a little girl dying of cancer. Kiara’s last request is for Ernest to look after her imaginary friend, ‘Mr Man’. To his shock, Mr Man manifests as a dazzling, shape-shifting agent of chaos with a Cork accent. Defying protocol, Ernest reluctantly allows Mr Man to accompany him. Where Ernest offers tea and sympathy, Mr Man offers radical empathy and personalised send-offs for the dead. A tender, Queer romance blossoms - but Mr Man begins to glitch and fade. Tethered only to Kiara, their existence is finite, and after a final declaration of love, Mr Man unravels and disappears.
Facing judgment from Death herself, Ernest breaks free, learning that true happiness lies not in following the rulebook, but in writing a better ending.
Logline & Synopsis
A lonely bureaucrat for The Afterlife finds his purpose upended by a dying child's imaginary friend - forcing him to reimagine how we die, and what it means to truly live.
Ernest has one of the strangest jobs in the universe. He’s a "Facilitator for The Decedent", shuffling the dead over to The Afterlife with a cupán tae and a comforting word. For centuries, he's followed Death's rigid rules, but his dutiful existence is rattled by Kiara, a little girl dying of cancer. Kiara’s last request is for Ernest to look after her imaginary friend, ‘Mr Man’. To his shock, Mr Man manifests as a dazzling, shape-shifting agent of chaos with a Cork accent. Defying protocol, Ernest reluctantly allows Mr Man to accompany him. Where Ernest offers tea and sympathy, Mr Man offers radical empathy and personalised send-offs for the dead. A tender, Queer romance blossoms - but Mr Man begins to glitch and fade. Tethered only to Kiara, their existence is finite, and after a final declaration of love, Mr Man unravels and disappears.
Facing judgment from Death herself, Ernest breaks free, learning that true happiness lies not in following the rulebook, but in writing a better ending.
About the Project
Short fantasy dramedy | In develpoment | 2026
Ernest is a comedic fantasy drama short film, written and directed by Stephen T Lally and produced by Billy Buckley. Blending bureaucratic absurdism with surreal fantasy, Ernest follows a mid-level civil servant for Death who learns that empathy and imagination are more powerful than following the rules.
The project originated through the starGAZE talent development programme at the 2025 GAZE International LGBTQIA+ Film Festival, where Billy and Stephen’s creative partnership was formed.
In 2026, Ernest was selected by Ardán for Screen Talent Europe's prestigious Directors Village programme in the Netherlands. Stephen was one of 12 European filmmakers chosen for the residency, further developing the project through workshops with Janneke van Heesch, Sofia Norlin, and Oscar-winning filmmaker Martin Strange-Hansen.
Ernest has been selected for Focus Shorts - Screen Ireland’s flagship short funding scheme - and will commence filming in early 2027.
The Creative
“Ernest is a short film about death, but it's really about life and the transformative power of human connection. The central theme is that compassion is creative and that personal connection leads to happiness. It's wild that what I found in Maastricht at the 2026 Directors Village was a perfect parallel for the film’s story. As Flaubert once said, "Madame Bovary, c'est moi." Well, Ernest . . . c'est moi!
As a writer/director capable of delivering visually inventive, emotionally resonant storytelling that connects with broad audiences, my previous shorts prepared me for the ambition of Ernest: TETHERED, Empress ClawScream, and CHARITY! pushed VFX, styling, and world-building further and further. Ernest is the next step in my filmmaking career and is exactly the kind of quirky and heartfelt Irish film I’d love to see more of onscreen. It’s a Queer film that speaks to a universal need for compassion and connection, and this is why I passionately believe it will be embraced by all audiences, and not just the LGBTQIA + community.
I've always been drawn to stories that blend the ordinary and the extraordinary. Ernest is camp, comic, yet utterly tender; a life-affirming short about grief, love, and imagination, qualities that define my work as both personal and universal. Ernest is a fantasy film that asks what happens when empathy becomes an act of rebellion. Because even in the most rigid frameworks, a little imagination can change everything.”
For more information or to request a screener: stephen@stephentlally.com